Wednesday August 7, 2019 17VIEWPOINT
The bottom line of the “one
country, two systems” principle
brooks no challenge.
Black-clad, masked protes-
tors removed the Chinese na-
tional flag from a flagpole in
Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong
and later flung the flag into
the water Saturday, an unfor-
givable, lawless act that has
blatantly offended national dig-
nity, is an insult to all Chinese
people, including Hong Kong
compatriots, and must be se-
verely punished in accordance
with law.
Escalating violence by radi-
cals instigated by behind-the-
scenes masterminds since
mid-June has severely under-
mined law-based governance
and social order of Hong Kong,
negatively impacted the local
economy and people’s liveli-
hoods, and damaged the re-
gion’s image.
From storming the Legis-
lative Council Complex and
blocking roads, to attacking
police officers with bricks,
sharp iron rods and even pet-
rol bombs, from surrounding
Hong Kong police headquar-
ters and disrupting the nor-
mal work of local government
departments, to laying siege
on the building of the Liaison
Office of the Central People’s
Government in the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) and defacing the na-
tional emblem, as well as Sat-
urday’s flag-insult, all these evil
acts have exposed the attempts
of some radicals and the forces
behind them to paralyze the
HKSAR government.
They undermined the “one country, two systems” prin-ciple, seized control of the city
and use the chaos in Hong
Kong to contain the overall de-
velopment of China.
Since the return of Hong
Kong, the central government
has repeatedly stressed that
it will ensure the principle of
“one country, two systems” re-
mains unchanged, is unwaver-
ingly upheld, and is fully ap-
plied without any distortion or
alteration.
It has also stressed that any
attempt to endanger China’s
sovereignty and security, chal-
lenge the authority of the
central government and the
sanctity of the Basic Law of the
HKSAR, or use Hong Kong as
a channel for infiltration and
sabotage against the Chinese
mainland is an act that crosses
the bottom line, and can neverbe allowed.
Hong Kong compatriots
should have a sober under-
standing of the harm and na-
ture of the violence by this tiny
number of radicals, resolutely
uphold the “one country, two
systems” principle, and safe-
guard the rule of law and social
order.
We can be confident that
Hong Kong will overcome all
these challenges and difficul-
ties and further advance the
“one country, two systems”
principle.The article is a commentary
from the Xinhua News Agency.
[email protected]Negative stereotypes fuel US gun rampages
Come brick or bluster, Hong Kong’s system will brook no challenge
Page Editor:
liaixin@
globaltimes.com.cnAny attempt to en-
danger China’s sov-
ereignty and security,
challenge the au-
thority of the central
government and the
sanctity of the Basic
Law of the HKSAR,
or use Hong Kong as
a channel for infiltra-
tion and sabotage
against the mainland
is an act that crosses
the bottom line, and
cannot be allowed.By Wang Hongwei
M
ass shootings
walloped the US
states of Texas
and Ohio within 24 hours.
In El Paso, Texas, at least
20 people were shot dead
and 26 injured, making the
rampage the worst one after
the incident at a Las Vegas
concert in 2017.
In the eyes of many, the
crime rate associated with
people of color in the US has
been high, so people gener-
ally think that black people
are dangerous. However,
in recent years, the worst
shootings in the US were
mostly carried out by white
gunmen. It may come as a
surprise to some that white
people are dangerous in
the US as well. But the fact
is that hate crimes in the
US have been on the rise
in recent years, particu-
larly those caused by white
supremacists. Unfortunately,
the danger posed by white
people does not get enough
attention.
People tend to assess risks
on the basis of previous sce-
narios and experiences. Yet
there could be black horse or
black swan events. However,
the truth is crimes commit-
ted by white supremacists
are no longer a rare occur-
rence.
It’s not surprising that
ordinary people are influenced by the
fixed mind-set, but if it is the same with
the department of public security, the
result could be disastrous. For example,
terrorists are often portrayed as poor,
illiterate, vulgar, single, eccentric and
so on by most people. This unfounded
prejudice is bred by their fixed mind-
set. The main perpetrator of the 2005
London bombings was a mild-man-
nered teacher from a special school.
In industrialized societies, due to
low population mobility, scarcity of
information, as well as security risks,
people could always find the pattern
of emergency incidents. However, intoday’s information society, globaliza-
tion, industrialization and urbanization
are developing rapidly. The pattern and
evolution of security risks has under-
gone great changes, and new features,
including novelty, complexity and
uncertainty have come to the fore.
In this new situation, the departmentof public security may
make fatal mistakes by
clinging to the old think-
ing mode. Nonetheless, in
the highly networked era,
any careless omission can
lead to a butterfly effect.
There are many reasons
for the frequent shoot-
ings by white gunmen in
the US. Such incidents
that are harmful to public
safety still fail to create
enough awareness and
vigilance. And this is obvi-
ously related to the fixated
mind-set that black people
rather than white people
are dangerous.
After a shooting in the
US, media and analysts
are always focusing on
gun control, while the
more complex issues
beyond the policy debate
are rarely discussed. Until
now, the danger posed
by white people does
not seem to be alarming
enough for Americans.
Long influenced by US
media, even non-Ameri-
cans tend to believe black
people are dangerous
in the US. The reality is
sending us a warning in a
highly uncertain informa-
tion society. Departments
and organizations related
to public security must
break the shackles of such
ossified thinking. It may
help better understand the
phenomenon of frequent gun rampages
by white people.The author is director of Research Center
for National Security, the School of
Public Administration and Policy, Renmin
University of China. opinion@globaltimes.
com.cnIllustration: Liu Rui/GT